


Wa Ka Yo Ta Re So

by Ki_no_Shirayuki



Category: Gintama
Genre: Breaking the Fourth Wall, Character Study, Embedded Images, Embedded Video, Gen, Japanese, Japanese Culture, Languages and Linguistics, POV First Person, Rants, Some Humor, Swearing
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-09-02
Updated: 2017-09-02
Packaged: 2018-12-22 23:04:50
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 525
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11976945
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Ki_no_Shirayuki/pseuds/Ki_no_Shirayuki
Summary: Katsura's view on the use of katakana.Probably inaccurate.TW: Ideologically and politically sensitive content.





	Wa Ka Yo Ta Re So

**Author's Note:**

  * For [morticiacat](https://archiveofourown.org/users/morticiacat/gifts).



> Partly inspired by badfic writers and bad canon writers who mess up the English language.

  
_I'll save you, man. I promise._

I swear.

Next time I see apple flavor candies with _appuru_ instead of _ringo_ written on their packaging again, I am going to blow something up.

  
_Oh, I got nuclear-flavored_ nmaibō _now. Shinsengumi better watch out._

What the fuck is wrong with the use of katakana these days? Are we, like, suffering from a Katakana Craze or something? Because at least 80% of street signs I see in a busy shopping district of Edo is words written in katakana when they're supposed to be hiragana or kanji instead! Most aggravating though, is when some people blatantly borrow words from other languages when there are obviously native Japanese words available _for the sake of katakana_ , like the aforementioned apple candy example for instance. Oh, and apparently in a latest attempt to popularize our series, I asked my Joui comrades for their opinions and at least five of them suggested that the series name be written in katakana instead. Sigh.

Luckily, both author Sorachi-san and the anime studio refuted the suggestion on grounds that I agree with — it is, first of all, a waste of space. Normally the kanji for Gintama only has two characters — 銀魂; changing it to katakana would make it _four_ characters — ギンタマ, which takes up more space and would screw up the logo design big time. But my comrades argued that they could use half-width katakana instead.

I simply told them, "Have you ever _actually_ seen any fucking anime in the entire Japan which uses half-width katakana in their logo designs?"

That's not the only thing that grinds my gears. It's their next argument. "Because it looks cool" they said. "It has that strong and badass feel which appeal to male audiences, and looks cute to female audiences." To be fair, I don't completely disagree with them on this. Now, you may think that I loathe the katakana alphabet because of what I've been saying from the beginning. Far from it, in fact. To me, katakana has its own visual appeal different from hiragana in that the strokes are simple but crisp and sharp, and _elegant_ in a way, like the strokes of a sword. Especially when written in calligraphy style… Instant orgasm, I'm telling you.

  
_Ahh._

I get it, it's beautiful. But visual appeal is not katakana's true purpose. I'd say that using an entire alphabet purely for aesthetics is incredibly disrespectful to the writing system itself. Katakana, invented by Buddhist priests in the Heian period, serves these purposes: writing words of foreign origins and scientific and technical terms (I still fail to understand the latter…). Not to make words look "cool" or "cute." Remember it until the day you die, people. And even when you're using it for foreign loanwords, remember this: you can't just borrow words indiscriminately; show respect for our country and language by _fucking using the fucking native words that our ancestors have fucking come up with like a fucking good Japanese would_.

Now, I sincerely plead with my fellow Jouishishi and every Japanese person: let us protect our language and, by extension, our culture and nation by ditching the gratuitous katakana.


End file.
